Chapter 7
Claire laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the accusation was too absurd to process.
“My father?”
Detective Brooks nodded cautiously.
“That’s what Eric claims.”
“The man I haven’t seen since I was nine somehow planned this?”
“I’m telling you what Eric said, not what we believe.”
Claire stood.
“I want to hear him say it.”
Brooks shook her head.
“That’s not a good idea.”
“Neither was letting my entire family live inside a lie for twelve years.”
“Claire.”
“I want five minutes.”
Brooks looked at me.
I didn’t know what to recommend anymore.
Every new truth seemed to reveal another trapdoor.
Eventually, Brooks agreed that Claire could listen from an observation room while I spoke to Eric.
“I don’t want to talk to him,” I said.
“Then ask one question,” she replied. “Why would he name Claire’s father?”
So I went.
Eric was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
His shoulder was bandaged.
Two deputies stood outside.
When I entered, he smiled.
“You look tired.”
“You kidnapped my daughter.”
“She came willingly.”
“You held her after she wanted to leave.”
His smile faded.
“That part got messy.”
I wanted to hit him.
I sat instead.
“Why did you name Claire’s father?”
Eric studied me.
“Straight to business.”
“Talk.”
“What do I get?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why should I?”
“Because Judith set you up.”
That struck something.
He tried to hide it.
I leaned forward.
“She told police you acted alone.”
His eyes narrowed.
That wasn’t true.
Judith had admitted plenty.
But Eric didn’t know that.
“She’s making you the monster,” I said.
“She paid me.”
“Exactly. And now she’s saying you manipulated her.”
Eric’s jaw tightened.
“She contacted me.”
“I figured.”
“She wanted you gone.”
“Why?”
“She hated you.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
He looked toward the window.
Then he said, “Judith doesn’t hate you personally.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“She hates men she can’t control.”
I thought about Claire’s father.
“Robert.”
Eric looked back.
“You know his name.”
“Why did you say he started this?”
“Because Judith never tells the beginning.”
“Then tell me.”
Eric smiled faintly.
“For free?”
I stood.
“Enjoy prison.”
“Wait.”
I stopped.
His face changed.
Less smug.
More tired.
“Robert contacted me eleven years ago.”
I turned.
“Why?”
“He wanted to know where Claire was.”
“Why ask you?”
“Because Judith told him Claire was living with me.”
I frowned.
“Claire had been with me for over a year.”
“I know.”
“So Judith lied.”
“Judith lies the way other people breathe.”
“What did Robert want?”
“He wanted Claire’s address.”
“Did you give it to him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Eric’s eyes hardened.
“Because Judith was paying me.”
There it was.
Again.
Money.
Every road in this family seemed paved with it.
“She paid you not to tell him?”
“She paid me to tell him Claire wanted nothing to do with him.”
My stomach turned.
“You did to Claire what you later accused me of doing to Madison.”
Eric laughed without humor.
“Yeah.”
“You’re proud of that?”
“No.”
For the first time, I believed him.
Not because he had become a good man.
Because shame looked different from manipulation.
“What happened next?”
“Robert didn’t believe me.”
“So?”
“He came to Georgia.”
“When?”
“Eleven years ago.”
Claire would have been twenty-four.
Madison one.
We were engaged.
“He came to find her?”
“Yes.”
“Did he?”
Eric stared at me.
“That’s where it gets interesting.”
I waited.
“He came to your shop.”
I froze.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did.”
“I would remember.”
“You weren’t there.”
My chest tightened.
“He met your boss.”
My old boss, Frank Miller.
Dead now.
Heart attack five years ago.
“What did Frank tell him?”
“That you and Claire had moved.”
“We had.”
“Robert asked for your address.”
“And?”
“Frank wouldn’t give it to him.”
“That makes sense.”
“He gave him a phone number instead.”
“What number?”
“Yours.”
I frowned.
“My number never changed.”
“Exactly.”
I stared at him.
Eric said quietly, “Robert called you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I never spoke to him.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
My skin prickled.
“What are you saying?”
“Judith answered.”
“That’s impossible.”
But then I remembered.
Back then, Claire and I had one cell phone between us for several months because money was tight.
It was technically my phone.
Claire used it constantly.
Judith visited often.
Anyone could have answered.
“What happened?”
“Robert introduced himself.”
My mouth went dry.
“And Judith?”
“She told him Claire had a new family and wanted nothing to do with him.”
I closed my eyes.
“She told him not to contact her again,” Eric continued.
“How do you know?”
“Because Robert called me afterward.”
“Why you?”
“He thought I might tell him the truth.”
“Did you?”
Eric looked ashamed.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Money.”
I stood again.
“You’re pathetic.”
“I know.”
That stopped me.
He looked at me.
“I know what I am, Daniel.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
He stared at the ceiling.
“I was twenty-two when Claire got pregnant. I was scared. Selfish. I ran. Then once I ran, coming back meant admitting what I’d done.”
“So you stayed gone.”
“At first.”
“And then?”
“Then Judith paid me.”
“You could have refused.”
“I didn’t.”
“You could have seen Madison.”
“I didn’t.”
“You could have answered her honestly four months ago.”
“I didn’t.”
His eyes became wet.
I felt no sympathy.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
“Why come back now?”
He looked at me.
“Because Judith stopped paying.”
That was the answer.
Not love.
Not regret.
Money.
“She said she was done. I had debts.”
“So you contacted Madison.”
“At first, I was going to scare Judith.”
“How?”
“Make her think I’d tell Madison everything.”
“Instead you manipulated a twelve-year-old.”
“Judith suggested it.”
“And you agreed.”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“You’re both unbelievable.”
Eric laughed bitterly.
“You think Judith is the villain and I’m the loser.”
“That’s generous.”
“But you still don’t understand.”
“What?”
“She didn’t want Madison.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She wanted Claire.”
I stared.
“She thought if Madison turned against you, Claire would leave you to protect her daughter.”
My stomach twisted.
“And then?”
“Then Judith would have Claire back.”
“Back where?”
“With her.”
Everything made sense.
Not normal sense.
Obsessive sense.
Judith had spent decades losing people.
Her husband.
Then her daughter.
She had turned control into love.
And every independent choice Claire made felt like abandonment.
Eric continued.
“But Madison didn’t just get angry at you.”
“She found him,” I said.
“She found me,” Eric corrected.
“You made yourself easy to find.”
He didn’t deny it.
“And then you got greedy.”
“Yes.”
“At the cabin?”
“Yes.”
“How much did you want?”
“Fifty thousand.”
“For what?”
“To leave again.”
I almost laughed.
The same deal.
Twelve years later.
The same man.
Same threat.
Different price.
“You really learned nothing.”
“I learned inflation.”
I stared at him.
He gave a weak smile.
Then it vanished.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Madison recorded us.”
My heart jumped.
“When?”
“At the cabin.”
“On what? Police found her phone.”
“She had another phone.”
I frowned.
“A burner.”
“Where did she get it?”
“Judith gave it to her.”
“Why?”
“So they could talk without you seeing.”
I felt sick.
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Eric looked toward the doorway.
“But she recorded Judith admitting everything.”
I left the room immediately.
Claire met me outside.
She had heard all of it.
Her face was soaked with tears.
“Dad called me,” she whispered.
I nodded.
“My mother answered.”
“Yes.”
“She stole him from me.”
I held her.
She trembled.
Then Madison approached with Detective Brooks.
She had heard about the burner phone.
Madison looked terrified.
“I know where it is.”
“Where?” Brooks asked.
“My backpack.”
“We searched it.”
“Inside the lining.”
We returned to the sheriff’s office.
An officer cut open a small seam.
A cheap black phone slid out.
Madison unlocked it.
There were recordings.
Dozens.
Some were calls with Eric.
Some with Judith.
The final one was recorded at the cabin.
Judith’s voice was unmistakable.
I told you to make her question Daniel, not kidnap her.
Eric replied.
You wanted the family broken.
Judith:
I wanted Claire to come home.
Eric:
She has a home.
Judith:
With the wrong man.
Then Madison’s voice entered the recording.
Grandma?
Silence.
Judith:
Sweetheart, this isn’t what it sounds like.
Madison:
You did this?
The audio captured everything.
The argument.
Eric demanding money.
Judith admitting she had contacted him months earlier.
And then one sentence that none of us expected.
Eric said:
You’ve been trying to get rid of Daniel since before he married Claire.
Judith replied:
Because Claire was supposed to marry Michael.
Claire stopped the recording.
“Michael?”
I looked at her.
“Who is Michael?”
She had gone completely pale.
“My ex-boyfriend.”
Madison frowned.
“You had an ex before Eric?”
Claire shook her head.
“After Eric.”
I stared.
“When?”
May you like
Her eyes met mine.
“While you and I were dating.”
